SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Pennsylvania - one of the most critical swing states this election year, and Vice President Harris visited the commonwealth yesterday. She campaigned in parts of the state best described as Trump country. NPR's senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith has this postcard from the trail.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FREEDOM")
BEYONCE: (Singing) Freedom, freedom. I can't move.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: When Harris stepped off Air Force Two just outside of Johnstown, supporters greeted her with excited cheers. Her campaign bus was there on the tarmac, and Beyonce was blasting from the speakers as usual. But this wasn't the sort of euphoric campaign swing Harris was seeing a few weeks ago with record-breaking crowds in big cities.
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UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE #1: (Chanting) USA. USA.
KEITH: In Johnstown - population 18,000 - Trump supporters gathered downtown right across from the Classic Elements bookstore, where Harris made a stop. There, she praised the owners for building community.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: And when you can provide a place where people come and know that they belong and that they're welcome...
KEITH: Former President Donald Trump won this county by nearly 40 percentage points in 2020. Harris says she's feeling very good about Pennsylvania, though recent polls and her frequent visits indicate this state is as close as you can get.
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HARRIS: Ultimately, I feel very strongly that - got to earn every vote. And that means spending time with folks in the communities where they live. And so that's why I'm here. We're going to be spending a lot more time in Pennsylvania.
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UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE #2: (Chanting) We want Trump. We want Trump.
KEITH: At the next stop in Wilkes-Barre, the Trump supporters were even louder, aided by a bullhorn. Trump won this county by double digits as well. At a rally inside a packed gymnasium, Harris was introduced onstage by Mary-Grace Vadalla.
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MARY-GRACE VADALLA: I'm a registered nurse...
(CHEERING)
VADALLA: ...A Scranton native...
(CHEERING)
VADALLA: ...And a lifelong Republican.
(BOOING)
KEITH: At first, the crowd booed, and then they cheered. Vadalla said Trump's handling of COVID and her mother's death from the virus made her turn on Trump. Now she's planning to vote for Harris. And when Harris came out onstage, she had a message for people who aren't die-hard Dems.
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HARRIS: You know, in the midst of this moment where there are people trying to divide us as a nation, trying to make people feel small and feel alone, these are moments that remind all of us that we are all in this together as one loving community.
(CHEERING)
KEITH: Harris and her campaign aren't trying to win in these red counties, but they are trying to cut into Trump's margins by going to places Democrats don't normally campaign.
Tamara Keith, NPR News, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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